Showcase LiveSemi-Live Blog

2:30 p.m. As long as the laptop battery holds up and the connection stays live, we'll be live blogging from the Showcase all afternoon. The Chain Gang of 1974 is just finishing its last song at the outdoor stage -- Kam and company are bringing it. Folks are still filing in. It is absolutely gorgeous out today! We'll also be hitting up our Twitter page all day long. Dig it.

2:34 p.m. The Heyday is up next!

2:45 p.m. The Heyday's sound checking and the beer is ice cold!

2:48 p.m.The Heyday just took the stage. Playing "Turn Me Around" right now. All the recent roadwork the band has put in is evident. The guys have grown up, and sound fantastic on the outdoor stage, every bit as good as their early potential suggested.

3:05 p.m. Just kicked into a brand new song called "The Struggle." Kam from Chain Gang just rolled into VIP. Dude's clad in a wife beater and wearing a winter beanie! (See last note about the heat!)

3:10 p.m. Heyday playing "One Foot Out the Door." Still believe this song is a hit! Program directors take note -- this one is gift wrapped and ready to go, a slam dunk. This is the sound of summer.

3:20 p.m. Nice cool breeze blowing through as the Heyday continues to blow through its set with ease. Damn, you've gotta love Denver in the summertime. The Heyday is the perfect soundtrack of the summer. Wait, didn't I just say that? Whatever. It's true. Randy Ramirez is in fine form.

3:15 p.m. Temperature gauge now reportedly reading 105 degrees. Just ran into John Baxter who totally co-sign's the validity of that reading. "Mercury doesn't lie," he says. "The back of my calves are on fire right now." Sissy.

3:30 p.m. The Heyday's just finishing up "Come In or Stay Out," and Kam from Chain Gang just informed me that's he actually wearing a "tank top," not a "wife beater," and the beanie is a year-round, "comfort thing."

3:35 p.m. Three beers in, just noticed the "mercury" is now reading 120 degrees. Clearly, the thing is broken. It is pretty hot, though. Heyday just finished. Laylights is up next.

3:40 Just lost power, and the battery in the laptop apparently has the stamina of Baxter. Live blogging may go down without notice. Just saying... Probably going to go off the grid for a while. Overcasters at Bar Standard and No Plot Kill are on the immediate agenda. Good times.

4:25 p.m. Live blog capabilities officially went the way of the dodo. Grabbed a bite with a couple of the Heyday guys during Laylights set, which meant I missed No Plot Kill and Overcasters. I did catch most of Tyler Hayden and company's set, though, and they were on point as always. Towards the end of the set, Hayden joked that they might as well play a few more songs since, well, everyone was here, and because the Laylights had driven so far (from Highlands) to be there. Off to DC10 and La Rumba. Look for an update in an hour or so.

The scene outside Bar Standard before the Widowers set.

5:45 Just came back from seeing Widowers at Bar Standard, which was absolutely packed to the gills. Widowers' wall of sound blew back the hair of hipsters aplenty. Outside smoking, we spied Nathaniel Rateliff, Monolith curator Matt Fecher, Holland and Devon from Red Orange Yellow, along with Ellison Park and a slew of very happy music fans.

6:20 p.m. Upstairs on Bar Standard's rooftop patio, meanwhile, it looked like a Miami style pool party -- minus the pool, of course, with Ivy manning the decks.

Ivy doing what he does best.

At La Rumba, Set Forth absolutely brought down the house with their obscenely tuneful Maroon 5-inflected pop. But that wasn't the show stopper. Don't get me wrong: Those kids -- and I do mean kids; a lady next commented, "Just how young are these guys? -- certainly know their way around a tune. But it's the dead on -- and I mean dead freaking on -- rendition of "Let's Get It On" floored the crowd. Finally, over at Milk Bar, just moments ago, Adam Cayton-Holland and his Wrist Deep Productions crew split sides with their unique brand of, uh, jocularity.

"Let's Get It On" indeed. Set Forth at La Rumba.

6:49 p.m. I'm off to Dazzle, DC10, Andrews and 1144, then to the outdoor stage to catch the Truckers. With any luck, there may be one more update before the end of the Showcase. If not -- navigating the Showcase is no easy task, especially for a fat guy -- look for full reviews and photos on Monday morning.

7:35 p.m. ManeLine throwing down at DC10. The sound is a little bit iffy, but that's only because the low end was making the speakers crackle a bit. Tito del Barrio Melaga is lighting up Dazzle in front of a very packed house. Ran into DJ Chonz, who was smoking a cigar and chillin' outside of DC10.

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